like a fish out of water

Tonight was JT's first swimming lesson. We were by the pool, ready and waiting, about ten minutes early. It was all I could do to keep JT from running and jumping in. He soooo loves the water.

There were about 10-12 babies in the "Shrimp" class. This is the first class where babies are merely introduced to the water. I had to coax him to sit at the side of the pool while I got in. He could just barely sit still this long. He was squealing with excitement. As soon as I got in, he wanted in... all the way in. He was going crazy. All the other babies were quiet. Apprehensive. Watching. Most of them were casting sideways, nervous glances at my baby.

We sang some songs that included splashing. JT tolerated those. Let's get to the fun part, people. (Personally, I liked the songs... Ring Around the Rosy, Wheels on the Bus, etc.) The instructors showed us how to blow bubbles in the water. JT thought this was hilarious. He watched me do it, squealed, then drank some pool attempting to do it himself.

He had some trouble taking instruction on doggie paddling with his arms and trying to kick his legs. We'll have to keep working on those motions in between lessons. He was too interested in doing his own kind of play in the water. (And maybe I'm not so good at making him pay attention.)

We also learned to jump in and swim back to the edge. Ok, well, I held him and did all the work for this, but the idea was that he learned how to get in the pool and get back to dry land. We did this exercise quite a few times. I also kept repeating "kick, kick, kick" and moving his legs. Hopefully in time he'll start figuring out what that means.

Swimming lessons were a bit more of an exercise for me that I expected it to be. And it makes for a tiring evening rushing there after work, getting both of us changed, and then practicing our strokes for 30 minutes. Pretty sure those squeals make it worthwhile, though!